NFL: The Bottom Ten

The No. 2 toothless Detroit Lions aren’t in contention for very many honors these days, but they have achieved one distinction -- worst team of the decade.

Averaging a bit more than four victories per season, the Lions have posted a mark of 42 wins and 117 losses dating back to 2000. Next crummiest are the Cleveland Browns at 56-103 and Oakland (“Commitment to Ridiculousness”) Raiders at 62-97.

The Lions also have a chance for another distinction -- worst team of the year. All they need is a loss to Chicago, combined with a victory by the No. 1 St. Louis Lambs over San Francisco, to win the Bottom Ten title. (Detroit and St. Louis would then each be 2-14 and the trophy would go to Detroit under Bottom Ten rules that, in the event of a tie, award the title to the team whose name is closest to the start of the alphabet.)

The Bears, by the way, dropped out of the Bottom 10 with a 36-30 overtime victory over Minnehaha. The Vikings trailed, 6-23, before falling short and thus enabling quarterback Brett Favre to preserve one of the most treasured records in sports: He is 0-43 in games in which his team trailed by 17 points or more.

6. Grampa Bay (3-12); 7. Oakland (5-10); 8. Buffalo (5-10); 9. Cleveland (4-11); 10. Minnehaha (1-3 in December).

Crummy game of the week: Chicago (6-9) at Detroit (2-13).

Rout of the week: San Diego (12-3) over Washington (4-11).

Fantasy flops: Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck (Seattle), 19 of 37 for 198 yards and one touchdown with four interceptions; running back Knowshon Moreno (Denver), nine carries, 18 yards; wide receiver Terrell Owens (Buffalo), four catches for 39 yards.

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